Game of skill



. Jan. 19 1926.

G. WOLKENHAUER GAME OF SKILL Filed Marc :h so

, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTEIR Gusfaz/ Zfldkenhaaer p %ma K AT'TY- Jan. 19 1926; 1,570,419

G. WOLKENHAUER I GAME 0? SKILL Filed Ma rcl z 30, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT R ATTY- Gustav ZZ/olkenhaqe? G. -WOLKENHAUER Jan. 19

GAME OF SKILL Filed March 50, 192 5 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F-IEH,7

Fla- 8 run/ENTER Gus/ ay Zfloikeniz aaer' Patented Jan. 19, 1926.

UNITED STATES. PATENT orFic f GUSTAV WOLKENEAUER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNOR TO BIVEBVIEW "PARK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION GAME or smt.

Application filed l larch a0, 1925. 7 Serial Ko.,19,191.

.- I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV WOLKEN- HAUER, a citizen of the Republic of Germany, and a resident of Chicago, countyof Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvementsin a Game of Skill; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact de; scription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, .and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to a novel and improved gamepf skill and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The ob ect of my invention is to produce a novel and attractive game of skill, more especially designed for use in amusement parks, at fairs, and in like places. The essentially attractive feature of the game, is,

that it is in fact a game of skill, instead of a game of chance, as are so many games (alleged games of skill) now put out for like purpose. The new game will also be particularly attractive to those attending places where games of the kind are oifered, because it will be manifest to the player of the game, that his success in the game depends entirely upon his own skill; and that his chance of wlnning the game cannot be in any wa interfered with or affected by any act 0 the attendant, who oifers the game for hisplay.

The object of the. present invention is to provide a game of the kind which may be played by one or more persons at the sametime upon the same apparatus and with one person alone in control to attend to the game and to see that each player properly pays his charge for playing the game.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus to play a game of the kind, in which the starting and stopping of the game maybe controlled from one posi-' tion, no matter how many engage in the game, with the players and their play' all in full view of the attendant, so that he may see and determine that each player enters the game in his proper turn and upon payment of the fee demanded.

These and other advantages of'the invention will appear more fully as I proceed with my specification.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a v1e'w showing a side elevation of a table which contains the apparatus of my improved game.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the table. Figure 3 .is a view representing a horizontal section of Figure 1 in a plane indi-- cated by the lines 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 1s a detail view in side elevation 4 shOWlIlg a motor, gearing and rotary target enlarged scale, illustrating a control leverarm used in the apparatus.

Referring now to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings:10

indicates a base or platform which supports the game apparatus.

The base 10 is prefer- I ably circular and is mounted on suitable legs I 12. 13 indicates an annular players board which is spaced above and is concentric with,

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the base 10. It is supported upon the base by means of an outer, cylindrical web 14 of approximately the diameter of the base 10 and an inner cylindrical web 15 of somewhat smaller diameter, which inner web is spaced. radially within the web 14.

Within the circular s ace on the base 10, defined by the annular p ayers board 13 and its inner supporting web 15, a rotativetarget 16 is mounted on said base. The target 16, as shown, is in the form of a circularboard; and is fixed to the top of a vertical stud 17 hearing in a sleeve 18, which depends through an opening in the base 10. Straps .19, attached to the base, support the sleeve 18. The target 16 is adapted to be rotated by a pulley 21, belt 22 and an electric motor 23 mounted one board 24 below the base,--

suitable reduction gearing, indicated by the numeral 20, being interposed between the pulley 21 and the stud 17.

25 indicates a circular head carried above the dropping of the required coin or slug l the base 10, having over-head arms 26, which i said board, as will now be described.

The players stations are defined by a plura lty of plates 28 fixed on the players board an said board, as clearly shown in Figure 2.

- Each of said plates bears a number. On the table illustrated in the drawings ten of said plates are provided, each numbered consecutively from I to X, inclusive. Each plate has a coin slot 29 at one end and a control button 29 at the other end. The control button, as will appear, is connected in such manner-to the bombing element, that when made capable of 'efl'ective operation; (as by into the slot 29), it may be pushed or. actuated to release the projectile from the bombplurality "of annular spaces 30, concentric wlth'the axis of rotation of said target, and

ing element to fall upon the rotary target 16.,

The rotary target 16 is provided with a corresponding in number to the number of players stations providedv onthe players board 13 As shown in Figure 6, these annular spaces are defined by concentric, circular lines 3141, and 'the spaces between said linesare numbered I to X, inclusive.

" Each of the annular spaces I to X on the target 16 corresponds to and is correlated 'wlth one of the plates 28 on the players board 13 bearing a like number. The target 16 also bears one or more, (in this case three) radially extending markers 42. Each marker is preferably made of increasing width from the center of the target towards its perimeter, so that said marker covers the same an glev of arcuate space on each of the annular spaces 30. i

In the head 25 there are mounted, in any convenient manner, a plurality of bombing elements 42. (SeeFigures l, 3, and 5.) There are as many bombing elements as there are plates 28, and each bombing element is associated with one of said plates.

' The several bombing elements 42 are severally arranged in the head'25, each with its center in a vertical plane, which contains a vertical line extending through the axis of the rotating target; which is radial to said ax1s; and which contains a vertical line extending through the coin slot 29. Each bombing element is also located in a position vertically above that one of the annular spaces 30, which is associated with thatplate spaced at equal arcuate distances about 28 with which it is in radial alignment. Thus, each bombing element is associated with one of the la ers lates 28, and is so P y P located in the head 25, that it is in position -ment with the center of the target and the player, whose station is at that plate.

Each bombing element 42 consists, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated, of I an electromagnet 43, the electric field of which, is supplied by conductors 44, 45 (see Figure 5). Said electromagnet is adapted to receive and to hold, when energized, a projectile 46, which has a round shaft 47 and a Weighted spherical head 48, with a centrally disposed point 49. v

The rotary target is made of wood or similar material and the spaces 30 and radial marker or markers 42, may be painted directly on the top face of the target or may be printed or lithographed on circular sheets of paper, which are attached to the top face of said target. The projectile, when re leased, falls on the rotating target and its point 49 buries itself in the wood of the target and remains there until removed. Thus, the projectile remains to indicate the exact position of the hit, so that there can be no question of the location of such hit.

From the foregoing description, it w1ll be manifest, that each rojectile will fall, when released, into an associated annular space 30 on the target, that space being the one associated with the players station and plate 28 containing the button 29*, which controls the bombing element for that station.

The object of the game is to release the projectile 46 at such point of time, considering the speed of rotation of the target and the rate of movement of the markers 42, that the projectile will strike one of said markers.

In rotating, the target once in each rotation will bring" one of the markers 42 into radial alignment with each of the players stations and directly below the position of the associated bombing element. Thus if the projectile is released at the proper 1nstant in advance of the time the said marker comes into a position below the bombing element, (the time interval depending upon the rate of fall of the projectile and the distance to he travelled by the projectile, as compared to the rate of movement of the target), the projectile will necessarlly strike the marker 42. As will be apparent, by making the marker of increasing width from the center of the target towards its periphery,

so that the angular space covered by the markers is identical on each of the annular spaces 30, the time required for the marker to pass through the radial plane of the path of descent of the projectile will be the same for the bombing elements located nearer the "rotative axis oft he target and for those and cut away to ings for the attachment of the plate 28 and into which it opens.

f r the depending of the coin chute into the sgace below said players table. In the front of the coin chute, in line with a line of sight from the eye of an attendant of the usual height when standinghin thelook-out position at 27, is located a ole or opening, closed by a transparent plate or glass- 52. Preferably, a short tube 53, opening at one end in line with a hole 54 in theweb 15, and provided with a magnifying lens 55 at its other end, isplaced with its axisin the same line. This provides means for the look-out to see and observe the coin or slug which is dropped by the player into the coin chute. To make the 00111 more easily visible, an electric lamp 56 is preferably fixed to the bottom of the players board 13 in the same space between the transparent plate .52 and the lens 55.

The bottom end of the coin chute opens into an-inclined flattube 57 which extends through the base, and is conneeted at its bottom end' to a centrally disposed box 58,

Said box 58 is common to the similar tubes 57, severally connected with the other-coin chutes." The box 58 is provided with a hinged bottom 58*, which is locked by a padlock or other suitable locking device 59.

The back wall of the coin chute, in line with th'e'transparent glass plate 52, hasa movable part 60, which is normally held with its bottom end engaged against the glass plate 52, as shown in Figure :7. By this arrangement, the said movablepart 60. will arrest and hold a coin or slug'whlch has been dropped into the chute 50 through the coin slot 29, in a position in full view of the look-out, who may observesaid coin throu h the lens .55 and the glass plate 52. The 100 outmay thus determine whether or not the player has dropped the required coin or slug into the chute. Passage of said coin or slug into the open top 61 of the inclined tube 57 is thus interrupted. As shown, the movable part is hinged to the back of the coin chute at 62, and is normally held in the osition described by means of a spring 63.

he movable part 60 extends upwardly above its "hinged axis 62, where it is pro vided with an arm 64 which extends throu h a suitable hole 65' in the back wall of the is a sprin chute into said chute. Said arm at the angle 13 adapted for engagement with an electrical contact 66, connected to a conductor 67.

The movable part itself is connected near its hinged axis with an electrical conductor 68. The bottom end of the movable part 60 is connected by a link 69 to the upper arm of a lever 70 fulcrumed at 71 to the base 10".

The lower arm of said lever is connected by a link ,72 which connected to the lower arm of an operating lever 7 3 fulcrumed to the base: 10 at 73*, in the neighborhood of the look-outs osition at 27 (see Figures 2 and 9). Mani estly by shifting the lever 73,

the lever 70 may be shifted so as to swing the movable part 60 of the coin crhute away from the glass plate 52, and to permit the arrested coin to drop into the open top 61 of the flat tube 57.

There are a plurality of levers 73, as

shown in Figure 2', corresponding in number to the number of players stations and coin chutes, and the several levers 70 and 73 project through suitable slots in the base 10, so that the links 72 are located below the base and out of the way. Suitable means is provided for locking the operating lever 73 either of two positions; namely, in the POSltlOll shown in full lines in Figure 9, 1n which case the lever 70 and the movable part 60 are in the position shown in full lines in Figure 7, or in the position shown in'dotted lines in Figure 9, in which case the lever 70 and movable part 60 of the coin chute are in the position shown in dotted linein Figure 7.

The button 29 heretofore described as being in the plate 28 at the players station controlled switch button, which to operate a normally closed familiar construction, interwires 45 is adapt switch of any posed in one of the conductin .(see Figure 7) leadin to the eld of the electromagnet 43 (see igure 5).

A diagram of the electrical connections is shown in Figure 8. In said diagram, the

electric conductors 67, 68, and the switch comprised of the arm 65 and the contact 66 are shown in shunt about the switch operated by the push button 29. Both of said switches are normally closed, so that when the main control switch indicated at 76 in the diagram and in Figure 2 is closed the electromagnets are all energized and capable of receiving and retaining one of the projectiles 46' A switch 77 controls the motor circuit. A third switch, 78, controls a lamp'circuit for a lamp with a large globe 79 attached to the head and. adapted to illuminate the rotating target.

When the switches 77 and 76 are closed b the look-out, the apparatus is ready for playing. The magnets are energized and one or more of the bombing elements may be charged with the several projectiles. The

target is rotating and ready for bombardment.

A player takes his position and drops the required coin into the'slot 29. The coin arrested opposite the glass plate 52 is observed by the look-out, and itfouud to be correct, the look-out swings the lever 73, associated with the position of the player who has just dropped'the coin, into the his operating lever 73 so as coin in the 00111 chute.

dotted position in Figure 9. This shifts the movable part 60 of the coin chute out of the road so as to permit the coin to descend to the coin box, at the same time breaking the connection between the arm 64 and the contact 66. This opens the shunt circuit, including the conductors 67 and 68 interposed in the conductor leading to the electromagnets. The circuit through the conductor 45 is still closed by the normally closed switch operated by the switch 29 The players may play against the boardalone, or may play in competition with each other, each selecting the same radial marker 42 to aim at, and the one coming nearest to discharging his projectile in the center of said marker, winning the round. The

. several players, where more markers than one are provided on the board, may all aim for the same marker, or may each aim at a difl'erent marker, since there is a circular space on the target for each player, on which and on which alone, his projectile may strike.

The game is manifestly a game of skill, where accuracy in observing the flight and speed of the projectile in comparison with the speed of therotary target determines the accuracy of the result.

While in describing myinvention, I have referred to many details of mechanical construction and arrangement of parts, it is to be understood that the invention is in no way limited thereto, except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A game apparatus comprisingarotw,

tive target bearing a radial mark and a plurality of radially spaced annular marks, a

players board concentric with said target and providing a plurality of players stations,

to release the associated with each players station and located above the corresponding annular mark on the target, a main control device located at the look-out station, and aplurality of auxiliary controls, one for each players station, operable under the control of the main control device.

2. A game apparatus comprising a rotative target bearing one or more radial marks and a plurality of radially spaced annular n1arks,.'a players board surroundin said target and providing a plurality of p ayers stations and a look-out station, in view of all said players stations, a head. fixed vertically above said target, a plurality of electrically controlled bombarding elements carried by the head, there being a bombarding element in radial alignment with each players station and locatedvertically above the annular space on the target corresponding to said players station, a main control device operable from the look-out station, and

auxiliary controls, one for each players station, operable under the control of the main control device.

3. A game apparatus comprising a rotative target bearing radial marks and a plurality of radially spaced annular marks, a players board concentric and providing a plurality of players stations, one-for each of said annular marks with said target and an intermediate look-out station, a head fixed above said target, a plurality of electromagnetizable bombarding elements carried by said head, there being a bombarding element associated with each players station and located above the corresponding annular mark onthe target, a normally open main electric switch in circuit with the e 'tromagnetizablebombarding elements, 'a

plurality of normally closed trically controlled switches, one for each players station, and a plurality of normally closed sub-switches in parallel with said auxauxiliary eleciliary switches, said sub-switches being 0perable from the look-out station. N

4. A. gameapparatus comprising 8. r0-

tative target bearing one or.more radialmarks and a plurality of radially spaced annular marks,'a players board surround:

'ing said target and providing-a plurality stations and a look-out station, in view of all said players stations, a head 125 being a'bombardi of players fixed vertically above said target,"a plurality of electromagnetizable bombarding. elements carried by the head, there ing element in radial alignment each .players station and located vertically above I I the annular space on the target; correspond ing to said players' station, a normally open,

main electric switch in circuit with the elec- I tromagnetizable bombarding elements,v a plurality of normally closed auxiliary electrically controlled switches, one for each players station, and a plurality of normally closed sub-switches in parallel with said auxsaid table and a look-out station in view of I erable from the lookout station.

iliary switches, saidsub-switches being op- 5. A game apparatus comprising in combination with a table, a rotative target, a

plurality of players stations, provided about all said players stations, a head fixed vertically abovesaid target, a plurality of electromagnetizable bombarding elements carrled by said head, said bombarding elements bemg arranged -.in radially spaced relation above said target, With one bombarding element in radial alignment with each players stat10n,a normally open, master switch in circuit with the-several e'lectromagnetizable bombarding elements, a plurality of normally closed auxiliary switches, each in circuit with the associated electromagnetizable bombarding element, a plurality of normally closed sub-switches in parallel with said auxiliary switches, and a means at the lookout statlon for opening each sub-switch.

ing

switch at the look-outstation in circuit with the several electromagnets, a plurality o1 normally closed auxiliary switches, one at each players station, coin chutes at the several players stations each having a movable part in view of the look-out station, a nor mally closed sub-switch in parallel with each auxiliary switch operable by said movable part, and means at the look-out station for actuating said movable part.

7 A game apparatus comprising in combination witha table, a rotative target thereon bearing one or more radial marks, and a plurality of radially spaced annular marks, a players board about said target provid-' a plurality of players stations and a look-out station, a above said target, a plurality of bombarding elements each including an electromagnet carried by said head, each bombarding element being in radial alignment with a players station and located vertically above ing to said 'station,a normally open master switch at the look-out station in circuit with i all the electromagnets, a normally closed auxiliary switch at each players statlon 1n circuit with the associated electromagnets, a coin chute at each players stat on, said coin chute including a movable part in view of the lookout station, a sub-switch operableby in parallel with said auxiliary switch, and means located at the look-out station for operating the several said coin chute parts. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I afiix my 26th day of March A, D. 1925.

; GUSTAV WOLKEN'HAUER.

signature this head fixed vertically -an annular space on the targetcorrespond said movable part, normally closed 

